Vol. 431 No. 2
43 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for the Marine if it is intended to test the legality of the Common Fisheries policy in the European Court of Justice in view of its implications for the Irish fishing industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The option of challenging the legality of any Community policy is one which is kept under ongoing review. A decision whether or not to challenge any particular policy at any point in time must depend on a balanced assessment of the likely outcome and, in particular, a judgement whether that outcome would bring positive benefits.
While I have no immediate proposals to challange the legality of the Common Fisheries Policy, the initiation of such a challenge is not ruled out. Last year, we did not hesitate to take the Commission to the European Court over its policy on fleet reduction and due in no small way to this action we were successful in securing a major reversal of Commission policy on the fleet. I would not hesitate to take such action against if the situation warranted it.
This matter will be kept under review, having regard, in particular, to the outcome of forthcoming discussions on outstanding aspects of Ireland's submission on the review of the Common Fisheries policy.
